Tool for assembling ophthalmic mountings



June 1936- E. 1.. SCHUMACHER TOOL FOR ASSEMBLING OPHTHALMIC MOUNTINGS Filed Oct.

20, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIBJI;

n m m wm w 2 m June 23, 1936. E. L. SCHUMACHER 2,045,372

TOOL FOR ASSEMBLING OPHTHALMIC MOUNTINGS Filed Oct. 20, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fllim 5 flaw" Patented June 23, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOOL FOR ASSEIVIBLING OPHTHALMIC MOUNTINGS Elmer L. Schumache'r, Southbrid'ge, Mass., assignor to American Optical Company, Southbridge, Mass, a voluntary association of Massachusetts Application October 20,1933, Serial No. 694,506

' 2 Claims. (01. 219-12) This invention relates to improvements in to be limited to the exact details of construction means for assembling ophthalmic mountings and and methods shown and described as the prehas particular .reference to improved means and. ferred forms only have been shown by way of methods of integrally uniting and separating the illustration. a

5 operable and separable parts of such mountings. Referring to the drawings: 1 5 One of the principal objects of the invention is Fig. I is a perspective view of one of the dcto provide improved means and method of intevices embodying theinvention; grally assembling and separating the operable Fig. II is a fragmentary side elevation of the g and separable parts of an ophthalmic mounting l w m m sh W in g. ew their by the application of heat. relation with the parts of an ophthalmic mount- 10 Another object of the invention is to provide ing during the assembling Operation; hand operable means for holding the operable F g. III-is a f ry pe p v v w of and separable parts in aligned relation with each One Of e l mb sep ate f o its ul other and of applying heat to said parts to cause Porting means a showing e deta o the solder means associated therewith to melt and interchangeable connection; l5

flow between said parts and thereafter allowing IV is a sectional ew ke o l e IV- V the parts to cool to cause the solder means to of III showing e j w in asse bled ela harden and adhere to the parts and integrally With its supporting means; unite the same. Fig. V is a fragmentary perspective view 0 Another object of the invention is to provide another modified form of the invention; 20 means in a device of this character for control- V s an r e tion l view taken on ling the amount of heat applied to the parts being line of and united or separated. Fig. VII is a schematicfview of the heating ele- Another object is to provide improved means ment of the device embodying the invention. d t d f Supporting t parts in proper It has been usual in the past, in the assembling 25 relation with each other, topermit ease in unittheeperable and separable Parts Of an p ing or separating said parts. thalmic mounting to employ screw means for Another object is to provide plier t means connecting said parts. This type of connecting with which a plurality of different type jaws means, although efiicient from the standpoint used f r uniting and eparating t djfi e t of ease of assembling and separating, became 30 erable and separable parts of an ophthal ic loose during use and allowed the parts to sag and mounting may be quickly and ea il tt ,move out of aligned relation with each other. separated from the plier means. This looseness, in most instances, was due to the Another object is to pro ide i l t t tendency of the screw means to back out during ing zones on pliers of this character whereby use t0 the Wearing and eak ng away of the 35 interchangeable jaw members y be quickly threaded portions thereof during use.

and easily removed or attached to the pliers and 1 T0 Overcome the above defects the Various D- be insulated from the jaw supporting portions of erable and separable connectlons have been 40 said pliers. changed to utilize solder connecting means which Another object is to provide simple, efficient can be 'quickly and easily united to form a peeland economical means d methods of uniting tive and more or less permanent connection when and eparating t operable and separable parts the parts are in proper relation with each other of an ophthalmic mounting which may be quickly and which may be quickly and easily separated t and easily adapted to the requirements of differ- Permit the interchanging of Parts if desiredent types of connections. Although this type of connection is very satis- Other objects and advantages of the invenfactory the means employed t pe form th ption will become apparent from the following d eration of uniting or separating these connections scription taken in connection with the accomin the past, has been exceedingly large, bulk panying drawings, and it will be apparent that and limited to uniting or separating only on many changes may be made in the details of conspecific type of connection. These machines struction, arrangement of parts and methods were also very costly, required special bench shown and described without departing from space, and were so constructed that they hindered the spirit of the invention as expressed in the vision of the work and were in general difilcult 55 accompanying claims. I, therefore, do not wish and awkward to manipulate; 55

It, therefore, is one of the primary objects of this invention to provide simple, efficient and economical means which may be quickly and easily adjusted to the requirements of different connections, which is light and easy to handle, and with-which the parts of said connections may be clearly viewed for alignment etc. prior to being united and to provide an improved process whereby the said parts may be quickly united or sepa rated.

Referring more particularly to the drawings wherein like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views, the device embodied in the invention, as shown in Figures I and VII, comprises broadly a pair of clamp jaws 1 and 2 connected to a transformer 3 by the lead wires 4. The transformer 3 is provided with a socket connection by means of which the said transformer may be connected to any suitable source of electrical energy and is also provided with a current control switch 5 for regulating the amount of electricity admitted to the clamp jaws I and 2 during the use of the device.

The clamp jaws I and 2, as shown .in Figures I to IV inclusive, are connected to the jaw supports 6 andI of a pair of hand pliers I9 and are bers and provide means for rigidly clamping the said jaw members to their supports. The said spaced fingers are adapted to form sockets to receive the reduced ends I and provide means whereby the jaws may be quickly removed or attached to said ends. Attention is directed to the fact that the reduced portions ID are also slotted at I6 to receive the clamp screws I2 and that the said slots I6 are so dimensioned that when the screws I2 are positioned within the slots II, the walls of the slots IE will be in spaced relation with said screws so as not to form an electrical contact therewith. Attention is also directed to the fact that the pad members 8 extend outwardly at IT beyond the ends of the reduced portions II] and position said ends in spaced relation with the bottom of thesockets I so as to completely insulate the jaw members I and 2 from the jaw supports 6 and I. v

The lead wires 4 are provided with slotted tip members I8 which are adapted to be placed beneath the heads of the screw members I2 so that when they are tightened to secure the jaw members I and 2 to the jaw supports 6 and I they will simultaneously secure the tip members to said jaws. This provides means whereby the lead wires may be quickly and easily connected or detached from the jaw members.

The pliers I9 are of the usual prior art parallel jaw type which if desired may be provided with spring means 20 for holding the jaws in spaced relation with each other when not in use.

The jaws I and 2 in this instance are adapted for use in assembling the split endpiece type connections of an ophthalmic mounting having its lens rims 2I split at 22 on the temporal sides thereof to provide means whereby lenses may be inserted or removed from the rims. One of the split ends of the rim in each instance is provided with a temple support 23 having a recess 24 therein adapted to receive a lug 25 carried by the opposite splitend of the rim. The socket 24 is provided with a wad or disc 26 of soft solder which, when the parts are in assembled relation with each other, as shown in Fig. II, is adapted to be melted and allowed to flow between the parts by turning on the switch 5 and allowing electrical energy to flow through the jaw members I and 2 and through the parts held thereby until the said parts become heated. The switch ,is then operate-d to shut oil the electrical energy and the parts are allowed to cool to permit the solder to harden and adhere to said parts and integrally unite the same. Attention is directed to the fact that the parts are held during the cooling operation so that they will be in proper relation with each other when the solder means hardens and adheres thereto.

The jaw I in this instance is provide-d with a flat contact surface 21 adapted to engage the upper portion of the member 23 and the jaw 2 is provided with a plate 28 having a slot 29 in the free end thereof adaptedto straddle the rim 2I to allow the said plate to engage with the lug 25 and force the same within the recess 24 to tighten the rim 2I on the lens. The jaw I is. preferably made of bronze or other suitable conducting material which will not cause a loss of power when electrical energy flows there through. The major portion of the jaw 2 is also formed of a bronze or material similar to thatv of the jaw I, but the plate 28 is preferably made of'steel or other means for creating a resistance to assist in heating the parts of the mounting which are to be connected. The plate 28 is secured to the jaw 2 by screws or other suitable means 30.

The transformer 3 in this instance is provided with a primary connection adapted to receive 110 volts or the voltage of an ordinary power line and a secondary connection which is adapted to have an output of approximately 1 volt. Although this type of transformer has been used with success, it is apparent that any suitable type of transformer may be used and that the voltage output thereof may be varied in accordance with its requirements' In Figures V and VI there is shown a modified form of connection for connecting the jaw members to the jaw supporting portions of the pliers. the jaw supporting portions of the pliers are provide-d with overlapping portions I3 and I4 having insulation means I5 there between. The overlapping portions I3 and I4 are connected by pin members I6 and screw members 11 which are insulated from the member I4 by tubular insulating members I8 and 19. The tubular members I8 are adapted to engage shoulders 80 formed at the bottom of the openings in the member I4. These shoulders provide means whereby the member I4 may be drawn toward the member I3 when the screw members H are tightened. Attention is also directed to the fact that the walls of the shoulders 80 are in spaced relation with the screws 1! so as not to have an electrical contact with said screws. The pin members I6 and tubular members I9 are pressed within the aligned openings in the members I3 and I4 and are thereby frictionally locked with said members. The pin members I6 merely perform the function of maintaining the parts in aligned relation with each other and to prevent the jaw members turning sidewise when they are forced toward each other. This type of connection of the jaw with its supporting means is more or less In this instance the jaw members and permanent and is only used when several separateplier members are provided, each for performing an individual operation.

In connection with the plier and jaw members such as shown in Figures I and II it is to be understood that when it is desired to separate the members 23 and 25, the said member 23 is gripped on -its sides opposite those shown engaged by the jaw members in Fig. II. Heat is then applied to the connection by operating the switch member 5 whereupon the solder means will melt and allow the lug 25 to spring outwardly of the recess 24.

Although applicant has shown and described only a few difierent types of jaw members it is to be understood that several different types of jaw members and interchangeable connections may be provided and yet be within the scope of applicants invention. 7

It is to be understood that if desired the jaw members, as shown in Figure III, may be provided with an aligning pin 82 to provide additional means whereby the said jaw members will be held against twisting sidewise during use.

It is to be understood that in all instances the operable and separable parts are gripped and held in proper aligned relation with each other previous to the heating thereof, and that the heat applied to said parts is definitely controlled by the operator so as not to overheat and cause injury to said. parts during the uniting thereof. The controlling of the heat also applies to the separating of the parts.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that applicant has provided simple, efiicient and economical means and methods of accomplishing all of the objects and advantages of the invention, particularly that of uniting and separating the operable and separable parts of an ophthalmic mounting by the application of heat and of providing improved means and process by which several different types of operable and separable connections may be quickly, easily and more or less permanently united or separated with ease and accuracy.

Having described my invention I claim:

1. Ina device of the character described, a pair of clamp arms mounted for movement toward and 5 away from each other and each having a shculdered portion and a reduced jaw attaching portion, a pair of work holding jaw members each having a shouldered portion and a. reduced attaching portion shaped to overlie each of the re- 10 duced attaching portions of the clamp arms with the end of each overlapping portion positioned adjacent the shoulder of the other portion, one of said reduced overlapping portions having a slot therein and the other having securing means fitl5 ting in said slot for securing the overlapping portions together, and insulating means between said reduced overlapping portions and between the shouldered portions and the ends adjacent said shouldered portions to support the said portions 20 in spaced relation with each other, said insulating means adjacent the edge of the slot forming means for holding the securing means in spaced relation with the side Walls of the slot when the jaw members are in attached relation with the 25 clamp arms.

2. In a device of the character described, a pair of clamp arms each having an attaching zone adjacenttheir forward ends, detachable jaw members each having an attaching zone shaped to fit the attaching zone of each clamp arm means for insulating the jaw members from the clamp arms and means for attaching the jaws to the clamp arms in said insulated relation, manually operable handle means pivotally connected with each other and with the clamp arms for movement of said arms towards and away from each other in substantially parallel relation, and electrical conducting means extending through each respective handle and connected with the jaw members.

ELMER L. SCHUMACHER. 

